The specification pertains to a new and improved type of conduit which is intended to be utilized in supporting various types cables, lines, and the like.
In the past a wide variety of different types of enclosed conduits have been developed and used for the purposed of holding cables, wires, lines and the like. As a result of experience it was realized many years ago that in many applications it is most advantageous to use conduit for such purposes which was formed so as to include a generally U-shaped base and a lid or cover mounted on the base so as to enclose the space generally between the sides of the base. With conduit of this type the cover was normally constructed so it could be removed from the base so as to provide easy access to the space within the conduit interior.
Although such enclosed conduits having a base and a removable cover for the base have been constructed in many different manners it is believed that it is normally considered best to manufacture them utilizing two separate extrusions--a base extrusion and a cover extrusion--formed of resilient, self supporting polymer material capable of resisting normal ambient influences. These are frequently manufactured of a polyvinyl composition. These extrusions are usually shaped so as to permit the lid to be snapped on the base in order to enclose the space or volume generally between the sides of the base. Any such construction has required the use of coacting parts or so-called "means" on both the side edges of the base and side edges of the cover so as to secure the cover in place. Such coacting means may be of such a character that they can be referred to as detent or the latch means.
Unfortunately a structure of the latter catagory is not as desirable as one might reasonably like because of the fact that it normally will have been constructed in such a manner that the cover can come off of the base relatively easily. This is not to be taken as indicating that prior structures as noted are undesirable. They are utilitarian. However, on occasion complications have arisen as a result of vandals being able to easily open such conduits or as a result of the covers tending to separate from the bases as a result of various forces of one type or another, being applied to the conduit. Further, when such prior closed conduits are used with the covers vertically oriented it has been relatively difficult to enclose within such conduits a large number of cables, lines, wires or the like while concurrently retaining the ability to easily close the cover of such a conduit.